Have you tried changing any of the recommended settings on Intel's site? Make sure to also adjust any power settings to max for the card. Also have you tried running the Intel Generic Drivers or just Dell's (I have seen some posts regarding this on Intel's site where they make recommendations to trying Intel drivers)? Here also are some recommended check lists from Intel. I realize depending how you're connecting to your router these might not apply but I was just curious if you had tried/read through any of these.
What is the current router you're using (note I am not blaming the router but I have seen some interesting discussion on this since the card is running in 2x2)?
Also, if you connect the system through ethernet do you notice it follow that as well? Depending how this goes it could just be a bad card, but I am hoping there is some setting we can try or maybe even a FW update to fix this.
Thanks for your reply! I've spent some time testing the connection this weekend. Fortunately, I have a business laptop which is the same model and has the same wireless card so I've been able to compare and test them side by side. I've found that both are already set up with the recommended settings and I'm having the exact same issue with both, which is a relief as I would doubt that both cards are faulty. I also note that when one laptop starts uploading and the connection drops, it actually drops on both of these laptops - so I believe it's causing an error on the router's end. As soon as I disconnect and reconnect both laptops they're instantly back online.
I tried uploading via Ethernet connection and this worked great! So that’s a bonus and I think it must be a wireless issue, but connecting to the Ethernet isn’t really a viable long term solution so it would be great to solve the wireless issue.
I must say that I don't know much about the differences between the types of 802.11 connection and encryptions, so apologies if I ask seemingly obvious questions about these settings. My router is a BT Home Hub 3.0, and I adjusted the settings slightly to match Intel's recommendations (it was initially set to 802.11 b/g/n rather than 802.11n only) and this seems to have improved the uploading but not fixed it - I can now upload around 10MB before it drops, previously it was only around 2MB. I have noted that the router’s encryption is set as "WPA and WPA2" and Intel's recommendations state that WPA-TKIP is incompatible with 802.11n. Would I be right to assume that WPA is the same as WPA-TKIP and that might be causing an issue when uploading? However, my laptop does state that its connection to the router is encrypted with WPA2-Personal, so I'm not sure whether this could be it. I am wary about changing settings that could cause connection issues for others in the house so being a bit cautious, is an "802.11n only" connection with “WPA2 only” encryption likely to be compatible and secure for most modern devices bought in the last few years (tablet, phones, etc)? As I mentioned before, I’m currently still able to upload files on other devices through this network without any issues.
I am going to be out this week (and sorry for the late reply), but I did find an interesting thread on Intel's site discussing the 8260 and BT Hub, and unfortunately it looks like the customer's fix was to use a different router/wireless AP. There were a few other settings in this thread from Intel that you could try though. One other think I would recommend is trying to see if you can update the Firmware on the router. From what it sounds like to me is that if both cards are going down on both systems (and one can bring down the other), I would recommend looking at the router first. When you use the systems on a different network (different router manufacturer) does the issue ever follow?
As for your other question, I would recommend leaving WPA2.
Apologies for the late response, and thank you so much for continuing to help with my connection issues, the information has been really useful and saved me a lot of time hunting for answers!
Unfortunately I think you're right and it does seem to be the router's issue. I managed to upload 100mb of data on my work's Wifi network without issue last week with one of these laptops, and unfortunately no changes to the home hub's setting seem to help me at home.
I guess I will have to chase BT for some answers and assistance but I don't expect there'll be a simple fix other than replacing the router, so I might just have to make do with an awkward Ethernet connection for now and look at replacing the router at some point in the future. It certainly doesn't appear to be an actual fault with these laptops or the wireless cards themselves.
If you have any other suggestions then they'd be gratefully received, but if not then thank you for your help in getting closer to the root of the problem! I just hope BT will be as helpful from here :P
No worries on the delay in response. I am glad you were able to get it working at work vs on the BT setup. Unfortunately I did not find any specific fixes for the BT hub. What I would recommend doing is contacting them directly to see if there is a firmware update that can be applied to their hub that might resolve this issue.
If they can not update the firmware on the hub or maybe even offer a newer hub (like the 5 series etc). I would then recommend discussing with them how to put the gateway in bridge mode (and disabling the wifi there as well), and then buying and running your own wifi router. This way you can get a new router with features that can allow your system to get the best performance out of the newer 8260 cards. Here is a link detailing this from BT, there are other links that explain this further on their site. Obviously this would be out of scope for what I can detail, but I personally prefer running my own routers and switches at my house. Obviously this does take some trial and error if you're new to doing this as well as some initial setup, but on my setup by running my own router I get a lot better performance vs what my ISP was giving me. Again, I know this is not for everyone, but I think it will be a good option to implement if BT does not give you a lot of answers/support (I have never dealt with them so I am not sure how good their support is).
If you prefer to stick with the BT Hub and they do not give you any answers, another option is to look into adding a wireless Access Point (or another router in wireless AP mode), and then plug it directly into the BT Hub with a different WiFI SSID (both name and channels should be different). This way you will get the correct performance out of your 8260 cards.
I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any further questions, and let me know if you get this resolved!
Thanks for the added suggestions! All of your help has been really useful. I probably won't chase BT straight away, at least I have a couple of workarounds for now to keep me going whilst I do some reading into other routers and decide what I want to do, but I will update you if I manage to get any answers further down the line!
Brad L (retired)
9 Legend
•
2.7K Posts
0
October 21st, 2016 15:00
Hi Dan,
Have you tried changing any of the recommended settings on Intel's site? Make sure to also adjust any power settings to max for the card. Also have you tried running the Intel Generic Drivers or just Dell's (I have seen some posts regarding this on Intel's site where they make recommendations to trying Intel drivers)? Here also are some recommended check lists from Intel. I realize depending how you're connecting to your router these might not apply but I was just curious if you had tried/read through any of these.
What is the current router you're using (note I am not blaming the router but I have seen some interesting discussion on this since the card is running in 2x2)?
Also, if you connect the system through ethernet do you notice it follow that as well? Depending how this goes it could just be a bad card, but I am hoping there is some setting we can try or maybe even a FW update to fix this.
Best regards,
Brad
DanLambey
1 Rookie
•
7 Posts
0
October 23rd, 2016 03:00
Hi Brad,
Thanks for your reply! I've spent some time testing the connection this weekend. Fortunately, I have a business laptop which is the same model and has the same wireless card so I've been able to compare and test them side by side. I've found that both are already set up with the recommended settings and I'm having the exact same issue with both, which is a relief as I would doubt that both cards are faulty. I also note that when one laptop starts uploading and the connection drops, it actually drops on both of these laptops - so I believe it's causing an error on the router's end. As soon as I disconnect and reconnect both laptops they're instantly back online.
I tried uploading via Ethernet connection and this worked great! So that’s a bonus and I think it must be a wireless issue, but connecting to the Ethernet isn’t really a viable long term solution so it would be great to solve the wireless issue.
I must say that I don't know much about the differences between the types of 802.11 connection and encryptions, so apologies if I ask seemingly obvious questions about these settings. My router is a BT Home Hub 3.0, and I adjusted the settings slightly to match Intel's recommendations (it was initially set to 802.11 b/g/n rather than 802.11n only) and this seems to have improved the uploading but not fixed it - I can now upload around 10MB before it drops, previously it was only around 2MB. I have noted that the router’s encryption is set as "WPA and WPA2" and Intel's recommendations state that WPA-TKIP is incompatible with 802.11n. Would I be right to assume that WPA is the same as WPA-TKIP and that might be causing an issue when uploading? However, my laptop does state that its connection to the router is encrypted with WPA2-Personal, so I'm not sure whether this could be it. I am wary about changing settings that could cause connection issues for others in the house so being a bit cautious, is an "802.11n only" connection with “WPA2 only” encryption likely to be compatible and secure for most modern devices bought in the last few years (tablet, phones, etc)? As I mentioned before, I’m currently still able to upload files on other devices through this network without any issues.
Thanks again for your help Brad.
Dan
Brad L (retired)
9 Legend
•
2.7K Posts
0
October 25th, 2016 00:00
Hi Dan,
I am going to be out this week (and sorry for the late reply), but I did find an interesting thread on Intel's site discussing the 8260 and BT Hub, and unfortunately it looks like the customer's fix was to use a different router/wireless AP. There were a few other settings in this thread from Intel that you could try though. One other think I would recommend is trying to see if you can update the Firmware on the router. From what it sounds like to me is that if both cards are going down on both systems (and one can bring down the other), I would recommend looking at the router first. When you use the systems on a different network (different router manufacturer) does the issue ever follow?
As for your other question, I would recommend leaving WPA2.
Best regards,
Brad
DanLambey
1 Rookie
•
7 Posts
0
October 31st, 2016 16:00
Hi Brad,
Apologies for the late response, and thank you so much for continuing to help with my connection issues, the information has been really useful and saved me a lot of time hunting for answers!
Unfortunately I think you're right and it does seem to be the router's issue. I managed to upload 100mb of data on my work's Wifi network without issue last week with one of these laptops, and unfortunately no changes to the home hub's setting seem to help me at home.
I guess I will have to chase BT for some answers and assistance but I don't expect there'll be a simple fix other than replacing the router, so I might just have to make do with an awkward Ethernet connection for now and look at replacing the router at some point in the future. It certainly doesn't appear to be an actual fault with these laptops or the wireless cards themselves.
If you have any other suggestions then they'd be gratefully received, but if not then thank you for your help in getting closer to the root of the problem! I just hope BT will be as helpful from here :P
Many thanks,
Dan
Brad L (retired)
9 Legend
•
2.7K Posts
0
November 1st, 2016 11:00
Hi Dan,
No worries on the delay in response. I am glad you were able to get it working at work vs on the BT setup. Unfortunately I did not find any specific fixes for the BT hub. What I would recommend doing is contacting them directly to see if there is a firmware update that can be applied to their hub that might resolve this issue.
If they can not update the firmware on the hub or maybe even offer a newer hub (like the 5 series etc). I would then recommend discussing with them how to put the gateway in bridge mode (and disabling the wifi there as well), and then buying and running your own wifi router. This way you can get a new router with features that can allow your system to get the best performance out of the newer 8260 cards. Here is a link detailing this from BT, there are other links that explain this further on their site. Obviously this would be out of scope for what I can detail, but I personally prefer running my own routers and switches at my house. Obviously this does take some trial and error if you're new to doing this as well as some initial setup, but on my setup by running my own router I get a lot better performance vs what my ISP was giving me. Again, I know this is not for everyone, but I think it will be a good option to implement if BT does not give you a lot of answers/support (I have never dealt with them so I am not sure how good their support is).
If you prefer to stick with the BT Hub and they do not give you any answers, another option is to look into adding a wireless Access Point (or another router in wireless AP mode), and then plug it directly into the BT Hub with a different WiFI SSID (both name and channels should be different). This way you will get the correct performance out of your 8260 cards.
I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any further questions, and let me know if you get this resolved!
Best regards,
Brad
DanLambey
1 Rookie
•
7 Posts
0
November 2nd, 2016 12:00
Hi Brad,
Thanks for the added suggestions! All of your help has been really useful. I probably won't chase BT straight away, at least I have a couple of workarounds for now to keep me going whilst I do some reading into other routers and decide what I want to do, but I will update you if I manage to get any answers further down the line!
Thanks again,
Dan
Brad L (retired)
9 Legend
•
2.7K Posts
0
November 3rd, 2016 19:00
Hi Dan,
Glad to help! And I definitely understand on wanting to research routers first, it is a big part of your network.
Best regards,
Brad
LOST11G
1 Rookie
•
1 Message
0
November 10th, 2024 18:34
Im having the same issue, so i dont think its router thing, please help